Several materials can be used today as solid surfaces for the construction sector, but all of them have a certain limitation restricting their use.
These materials for construction can include, among others, wood. The use of wood as a surface for construction is widely known but it is a material that promotes bacterial growth, easily catches fire and needs periodic maintenance care to prevent degradation that leads to loss in appearance. These drawbacks mean that the product is not suitable in environments which require a high hygiene standard or are close to heat sources.
Steel is also a material known since long ago as a solid surface for construction. One of the drawbacks of applying steel as a surface for construction is its low scratch resistance and limited capacity for being embellished in addition to the possibility of corrosion over time.
Another material which can be used as a solid surface in the construction sector is stone agglomerates. Patent document ES 2 187 313 belonging to the owner of the present invention describes a method for preparing a stone agglomerate using polyester resin as a binder. The properties of such products can include, among others, high scratch resistance, large color variety, different surface finishing alternatives, high mechanical properties or the possibility of being able to confer anti-bacterial properties to the article. However, they have the technical limitation of degrading product appearance as a result of UV radiation. Due to this deficiency, there are different uses in the field of construction for which the product is not entirely suitable, such as, for example, for outdoor use (façades, balconies, courtyards, public works or similar environments).
Another type of stone agglomerates which can be used outdoors are those using cement as a binder. The deficiencies of these materials can include, among others, low acid resistance, the limitations existing for producing a highly aesthetic article or high water absorption of these surfaces, which promotes fungal growth and bacterial proliferation, causing this product to be unsuitable in environments which require a high hygiene standard.
Glass agglomerates are another type of materials which can be used as a solid surface in the field of construction, but they have several drawbacks restricting their use. The deficiencies of these products can include, among others, brittleness, low scratch resistance, design and volume limitations and the possibility of developing air trapped inside the article.
Natural stone is one of the materials most widely used as a solid surface in the construction sector. These materials usually have a high porosity so they tend to retain water and get stained. Furthermore, since they are materials obtained as such from nature, it is not possible to obtain large products with any assurance or with homogeneous appearance in the entire stone block from which said product is extracted, furthermore, within one and the same natural stone block, the products that are extracted vary in appearances and tones. As regards mechanical strength, articles made from natural stone have lower strength than that of other materials, such as steel or artificial stone.
Ceramic materials are also widely used as solid surfaces in the field of construction. Italian patent document IT 1,311,858 describes a method for producing slabs of ceramic material consisting of preparing a mixture made up of a granulate obtained from the granulation of natural stone materials or ceramic materials (also known in the art as “grog” or “precooked materials”) and a binding step consisting of ceramic powders which are mixed with a water-based inorganic binder, the resulting final mixture being molded and subjected to vibrating compression under vacuum. Furthermore, the appearance of articles used in the construction sector is increasingly important in recent years, not only in products intended for interior or exterior claddings, but also in kitchen worktops, bathroom surfaces, stairs, coatings or similar uses and the ceramic products known today have limited possibilities as regards embellishment, mainly in the entire volume of the article.
Based on the foregoing, the object of the present invention is to provide a novel method for producing boards made from inorganic components which combine the advantages of all the surfaces for construction known in the state of the art and do not have any of the deficiencies mentioned above. The properties of the article obtained by the method of the present invention are as follows: being chemically resistant, highly scratch resistant, incombustible, recyclable, resistant to UV radiation, resistant to sudden temperature changes as well as wear and tear, having a large size which allows easier product installation with smaller number of joints, high mechanical strength, thermal insulation capacity and insignificant thermal expansion, which product furthermore has a great variety of and contains many aesthetic elements in the entire volume of the board, i.e., in the three dimensions of the product.